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The Worker's Heart
Eclison Tavares Jorge Machado thought he had it all. As one of the youngest Unit Leaders in all of KemVar Acquisitions, he had a steady paycheck, a challenging job, and the respect of his superiors and peers. That is, until he forgot the soldier’s cardinal rule—always follow your orders.
With a single action he’s suddenly on Management’s radar and his unhappy commander has just the job to teach him a lesson. From the steamy jungle of the Lost Margin to the frigid outskirts of USCR territory, Machado soon learns that there’s more at stake than just his career. As enemies become temporary allies, what starts off as a simple, if unorthodox, mission holds ramifications that, if left unchecked, could tear KemVar apart.
With a single action he’s suddenly on Management’s radar and his unhappy commander has just the job to teach him a lesson. From the steamy jungle of the Lost Margin to the frigid outskirts of USCR territory, Machado soon learns that there’s more at stake than just his career. As enemies become temporary allies, what starts off as a simple, if unorthodox, mission holds ramifications that, if left unchecked, could tear KemVar apart.
304 pages, Paperback
First published May 18, 2015
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About the author
J.L. Allan
2 books12 followersJ.L. Allan is the author of The Worker's Heart and has been a professional author and editor for the last decade. She lives in a small house filled with entirely too many unread books, board games, and unpainted miniatures which occasionally distract her from writing.
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
February 8, 2016
I received this book for free through Goodreads Giveaways. This does not in any way affect my review.
The Worker’s Heart was a nice little military conspiracy novel. The main character is from what once was Brazil, and it’s nice to read about someone from outside my usual European/North American settings that flood the market here in the U.S.
In a world where the governments we know were replaced with business conglomerates, Machado is a soldier as part of acquisitions. He doesn’t undergo a big realization that Us vs. Them is really Us vs. Us That Look Different like we see often. He’s smart and has a conscience from the start, which is something that I haven’t seen often in military fiction.
There are different interests all playing a part in the big conspiracy of the story, and we don’t get anywhere close to the big picture with the reveal at the end of the novel. This novel is more of a setup story for something bigger, which makes sense given the fact that it ties in to the game series Mercs. However, it has the side effect of making the novel feel unfinished in my opinion. It kind of ended with an oh, is that all? feeling for me.
Still, it was a fun romp with decent action sequences, so all in all not a bad way to spend a weekend.
Review also available on my blog.
The Worker’s Heart was a nice little military conspiracy novel. The main character is from what once was Brazil, and it’s nice to read about someone from outside my usual European/North American settings that flood the market here in the U.S.
In a world where the governments we know were replaced with business conglomerates, Machado is a soldier as part of acquisitions. He doesn’t undergo a big realization that Us vs. Them is really Us vs. Us That Look Different like we see often. He’s smart and has a conscience from the start, which is something that I haven’t seen often in military fiction.
There are different interests all playing a part in the big conspiracy of the story, and we don’t get anywhere close to the big picture with the reveal at the end of the novel. This novel is more of a setup story for something bigger, which makes sense given the fact that it ties in to the game series Mercs. However, it has the side effect of making the novel feel unfinished in my opinion. It kind of ended with an oh, is that all? feeling for me.
Still, it was a fun romp with decent action sequences, so all in all not a bad way to spend a weekend.
Review also available on my blog.
April 13, 2016
I received this book through the Goodreads program in return for a review. This has, in no way, affected my honest opinion/review of this book.
Overall, this was a very fun read. The Worker’s Heart is the first novel set in Megacon Games’ MERCS universe – a near future setting dominated by corporations turned nations. Much of what we see of society in the novel is very similar to modern day, which makes everything a touch more familiar and easier to accept. This book is a mildly generic military novel with some action but the setting of MERCS actually lends itself really well to intrigue.
I enjoyed the read!
Overall, this was a very fun read. The Worker’s Heart is the first novel set in Megacon Games’ MERCS universe – a near future setting dominated by corporations turned nations. Much of what we see of society in the novel is very similar to modern day, which makes everything a touch more familiar and easier to accept. This book is a mildly generic military novel with some action but the setting of MERCS actually lends itself really well to intrigue.
I enjoyed the read!
August 14, 2016
This is a book set in the world of MERCs. It largely tells the story of Eclison Tavares Jorge Machado, a unit leader in the megacorp of KemVar 'acquisitions' department. However, the author has a tendency to abruptly jump to other to other characters point of views in chapter breaks. While this is important for the overall story being told, it would have been better if the chapter heading would have denoted a change in scenery or character.
The book does help give a flavor for the game setting and if you are interested in that it is an informative read.
The book does help give a flavor for the game setting and if you are interested in that it is an informative read.
April 24, 2016
I think this is really the first military conspiracy story I've every read. From what I understand this book acts as a companion to a game series called MERCS, a game I've never heard of before now. I did enjoy the book though and it was nice to see something that was outside the usual settings I usually read, that being European and North American. I think any fan of the MERCS game will like this book, seeing as it ties into the game.
*won as a GoodReads Giveaway*
*won as a GoodReads Giveaway*
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews